There are numerous ways of securing an electrical connector to a circuit board. For example, the connector may be provided with mounting ears having bores for accepting threaded mounting bolts which extend through corresponding apertures of the circuit board and are secured by nuts on the opposite side of the board.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,184,963 and 5,213,515 disclose top loaded board locks which are inserted into flanges or other areas of the housing from the surface opposite the board mounting face of the connector. When mounting such connectors to circuit boards, it is necessary to use a tool or other surface to apply force directly to the board lock members to insert them into the circuit board apertures so that the board lock devices will not move backwardly out of the connector housing in response to resistance to insertion into the circuit board apertures. It is desirable, therefore, to have a board lock member that is self-retaining in the housing and does not require use of a special insertion tool.
One such approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,870 wherein a portion of a board lock device is captured in a cavity of the housing entered from the connector mounting face and a second portion of the device is inserted into the board aperture. The portions are provided with barbs and the recess and board aperture are sized for an interference fit with the barbs. The housing structure above the cavity provides a backing surface for the board lock device during mounting of the connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,349 disclosed a further approach in which the housing includes an integrally molded post adapted to be received in a circuit board aperture. The post has a cavity in which a resilient retaining member can be inserted from a direction that is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the post. The housing provides a backing surface for the retaining member when the connector or other component is mounted to a circuit board. A disadvantage of this type of retaining member is that a double draw mold is required to form the housing and post configuration, thereby adding to the cost of manufacturing the product. The assembly of the resulting connector will also require additional steps since the terminal members typically would be inserted into the housing from a different direction than that required for the retaining member.
With todays increased emphasis on automated manufacturing procedures it is generally desirable to have a board lock device that is loaded into a connector housing from the same direction in which the terminal members are loaded. For example when top loading terminal members into a housing it is desirable to use a board mount device that is top loaded into the connector. It is further desirable that the connector be able to be mounted without having to use specialized tools specifically for the board lock member.